Source:

12-07-2006 15:41

(BEIJING, Dec. 5) -- Volunteers in Beijing have started a program to check the city's barrier-free facilities to ensure that they are effective for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games to be staged in less than two years.

At a launch ceremony on Tuesday, three disabled athletes were assigned to having an experience in getting access to tourist spots such as the Summer Palace, shopping centers, bookshops, fast food restaurants, post offices, subway stations and other public areas.

Wheelchair basketball player Peng Fenglin, a native of Beijing's Miyun County, said she was excited to join the team. "I will fulfill the job as seriously as I go on sport training or competition."

Called "Beijing Paralympic Games Volunteers in Action" and co-sponsored by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), the program aims at finding out the real needs of disabled athletes, providing effective information for the preparatory work of the Paralympic Games and accumulating experience for the training and organization of Beijing Paralympic Games volunteers, through on-spot survey of barrier-free facilities and services.

Tang Xiaoquan, BOCOG executive vice president and president of CDPF executive Board attended and addressed the launch ceremony.